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Possible power for BF 24RB

Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:16 pm
by Fritzsbikes
As a new owner of a BF, I realized that I have no 110 AC UNLESS THE LOUD GENERATOR OR SHORE POWER IS CONNECTED.
I found at a local yard sale a LEOCH AGM Battery LDC-12-285-8D and a Whistler 1600W inverter.
I have a 100 Watt harbor freight solar kit.
Is it possible to hook these up and use a cable to provide 110 AC to my motor home."? And mount the solar to my toad. The battery weighs about 170 lbs.and I plan to keep it in the toad, a small Ford ranger pickup..
Any advice or warnings would be appreciated..

Fritz & Carol Maiser
24’ RB Built for two 1999
2006 Ford Ranger tiny toad.

Re: Possible power for BF 24RB

Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:18 am
by tomzleapin
Your biggest problem will be keeping your battery fully charged. A lead/acid battery (which an AGM is) needs to be fully charged on a regular basis otherwise it will begin to sulfate. 100 watts of solar isn't near enough to do this. Your inverter generates a Modified Sine Wave (MSW) output. This is fine for most things but some will not run. My charger for my battery drill needs a Pure Sine Wave (PSW). Also my "Kill-O-Watt" meter does not like MSW. I've learned that electric blankets and laser printers don't work on MSW.

It would be better to have the battery in your coach. AGM batteries do not need to be vented and can be mounted on their side if needed. BUT, it's not a good idea to mix battery types such as AGM and flooded lead/acid (which is what you most likely have).

Two years ago I upgraded to a 170 amp/hour Renogy lithium battery. I also have 400 watts of solar. This combination is working very well for me.

Re: Possible power for BF 24RB

Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 12:41 pm
by whemme
Unfortunately I think that battery is probably too large to fit in your BornFree’s battery compartment. And it’s weight at 173 lbs would also probably be too heavy for the battery compartment structure to support that much weight if the battery would in fact fit.

Re: Possible power for BF 24RB

Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 2:38 pm
by tomzleapin
My tray which had two 6 volt golf cart batteries and weigh 66 lbs each almost fell out on the ground. As Bill suggests, not likely to support 170 lbs. and most likely would not fit. Here's my solution to beef up the compartment:
Image

Re: Possible power for BF 24RB

Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 9:24 pm
by Fritzsbikes
Okay. Great advise. The beast battery will be left at home this trip. Gonna use the solar to keep the toads battery charged so the RVI Toad Brake won’t quit mid drive, although the brake folks assure me that the brake didn’t use continuous power. So far it’s been several neighborhood blocks. Trip starts Monday.